Abandoned, Not Forgotten
by Potato Tree
Summary: More than a year after Loki was defeated there is a new threat plotting to destroy the Earth, one that no one ever thought to have existed. Now S.H.I.E.L.D. is seeking the help of creatures with powers that were thought to be legend,or a myth. What can come from this? Betrayal? Love? Death? The Avengers must fight side by side with creatures that were abandoned, but not forgotten.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Marvel characters, I own merely the plot line, any characters you don't recognize, and other stuff that is mine.**

**I've had this story rattling around in my brain for a long time, its actually a different story entirely, but in order to develop the characters and story line I'm experimenting with it as a Fanfic. Hopefully you enjoy my experiment.  
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On short notice Steve Rogers, otherwise known as Captain America, and Hawkeye, otherwise known as Clint Barton, had been called in by Nick Fury for a meeting of sorts. Upon arrival they were immediately escorted to the main discussion area, also known as the flight deck, where Nick Fury was looking out the window with his back turned to them. Barton and Rogers looked at each other before sitting down at different ends of the table, neither one of them had seen the other since defeating Loki, and that was more than a year ago.

"Look at the files on the table," Fury commanded of them without turning around.

Barton was the first to take one of the folders while Steve took the other one. Opening them carefully Steve locked eyes with the picture of a wolf, while Barton had information of a military hospital located in Germany. Steve would have looked past the wolf quickly if it hadn't been for the strange color of its fur, which assumed a rusty scarlet color, like an old red truck. Another thing that pulled him in was the peculiar grey that resided in the wolf's eyes, making it looked like the sky on a gloomy day.

Looking further into the file Steve read that the wolf's name was Malva, and though he thought it odd to have a wolf on file he read on. Flipping the paper over he saw that there were only two more pieces of paper in the folder, it was one of the thinnest files he had ever seen before, apparently they didn't have much information on the wolf.

With all the missions Barton had been on there seemed to be nothing that really surprised him anymore, so an abandoned military hospital in Berlin did nothing to his current mood.

"I have a new assignment for you," Fury spoke again. Assessing the way he spoke to both of them Steve figured they would both be going on the same mission, though he had to admit Barton would probably want to work alone.

"What are we doing?" Barton questioned sternly. It appeared the agent had also concluded that they would be working together and otherwise accepted it as Fury would likely not change his mind.

"The abandoned Beelitz Military Hospital in Berlin has had an unexpected visitor for the past few weeks. There are always people coming and going, touring the place, taking pictures of the vacant building, but recently there's been something else," he paused before finally turning around and looking at the two of them. "A red wolf named Malva has been seen wandering around the hospital at night accompanied by a small child, but this is no normal wolf." Glancing down at the table Fury put down another folder.

This folder was different from the other ones, instead of the creamy off white color it was grey, red letters written across its surface read, _'DISMISSED.' _Turning the cover Fury pulled out two pieces of paper and handed one to both of them, they were identical, both bearing the same information, which looked to be a newspaper clipping.

'_Red Wolf spotted wandering around Ghost Island,'_ the headline read. The article went on to explain how Ghost Island had been abandoned since 1974 and was once a thriving mining community before petroleum replaced coal and the mine was shut down. It then went on to describe how during a late night exploration tourists had seen a red wolf walking the halls of one of the buildings adjacent to them. Curious as to whether they had been imagining it or not they crept into the other building to try and get a picture of it. They hadn't gotten far when some of the floor began to collapse, taking one of the tourists with it; the man disappeared into the lower levels of the building. When they found him again he claimed that the red wolf had saved him, and showed them this picture.

Beneath the article was a blurred black and white photograph of something that looked like a wolf standing on the roof of one of the buildings. The man explained how he'd been stuck beneath some rubble and the wolf had pulled him out before running off.

"That newspaper article is twenty years old," Fury commented shortly.

"So this is the same wolf?" Barton questioned looking up at him.

"Yes," he muttered before sitting at the table.

"It says that the man could be considered as delusional," Steve said placing the paper next to the others. "We don't know if the man was making it all up or not," he commented glancing at both Barton and Fury.

"It's her," said sternly. Barton eyed Steve a little irritably, how could he still question things after what had happened with Loki and the rest of the Avengers?

"Why is S.H.I.E.L.D interested in a wolf?" Steve asked glancing at the pictures of the red wolf again.

Fury Looked at Steve before sighing heavily, the man was old fashioned and otherwise impossible to talk to about Gods and different theories of creation, so this would be hard to communicate with him.

"Malva Lykaios, the red wolf, is said to have been on Earth since the beginning of this planet, created by a God called Jove she was chosen to watch over the Earth until the end of its days. Jove also chose others to guard the Earth and its life; they are known as Guard ti Gi, or Guard the Earth. Malva is one of those Guardians," he explained quoting one of the many files he'd read on the wolf. "She has incredible power, perhaps even more than our friend Thor, which is why S.H.I.E.L.D needs her," he said shortly.

"Why now?" Barton wondered aloud.

"The Earth has a new visitor," Fury said with a sigh.

"Friendly or?" Steve asked eyeing Fury darkly.

"His name's Deo, he's from the same legends as our Guardian gang. Apparently he betrayed Jove and killed him before he was sent off into another realm as a way of getting rid of him. Before he disappeared he vowed that he would return and destroy the planet Jove loved so much," he muttered going back to the window.

"So not friendly," Steve nodded with small frown on his face.

"We need the Guardians help to defeat him for good," Barton finished for Fury.

"Exactly," he sighed. "Tony, Thor, Romanoff, and Banner are going after some of the other Guardians, both of you are tasked with capturing Malva and bringing her back here," he turned towards them again.

"What about the child?" Steve asked remembering that the wolf had a child with her.

"What about it?" Fury snapped. He was getting tired of Steve and all the questions he had stored inside him. "Give it to the locals or something, all we need is the wolf, now go," he commanded harshly.

Getting up quickly Barton more or less ignored Steve before walking out the door at a brisk pace, which left Steve to catch up with him.

"Let's go Captain," Barton said kindly. There was no reason to start off this mission with bitter thoughts and feelings.

ssssssssssssssssssssssssssss ssssssssssssssss

At night the hospital looked like something out of a horror film, where the main character runs down the hallway and trips' allowing whatever was chasing them to catch up while you sigh at them for being stupid.

Steve and Barton had arrived just before the tourists began to trudge out of the parts of the hospital that were still abandoned and open to visitors. Regardless of the red wolf sightings people were still running back and forth looking at the building, some of them were even looking for the red wolf, hoping to snag a picture or something.

Steve explained to the police that they were going to be 'investigating' for a few days and that they would have to keep people out while they were looking through the buildings. At first they protested, but after Barton showed them a badge of sorts they quieted down and agreed to keep people out until they had gotten what they came for.

By dusk the abandoned portions of the hospital were silent, save for the occasional sound of an animal meandering around the grounds or jumping through a window. Steve and Barton decided that it would be easier to slip up and contact each other when they saw the wolf or any traces of it.

Walking through the dark hallways slowly Barton held his bow ready, listening intently for anything other than his footsteps in the lonely building, but there was nothing. Stopping himself for a second he glanced around the structure, he'd been in abandoned places before, but none of them were as well preserved as this one. He couldn't help but admire the way it was built, the outside appearance of the place made it feel like an old college or something similar.

Running his fingertips over the decaying wall Barton turned suddenly with his bow in his hand and an arrow knocked and ready.

There at the end of the hallway, several yards away from him, was a wolf. With rusty red fur that almost looked scarlet and shinning grey eyes like the moon, it stood tall and looked at him. Lowering his arrow steadily he took a few cautious steps forward, would the wolf run away?

A few muffled thumps echoed throughout the hallway before a young boy, perhaps about nine or so, walked next to the wolf and grabbed its fur gently. He then turned towards Barton as well, though he could not see the boy's eyes in the dim light he could tell by the way he stood that the boy was wary of him. With the boy standing next to it, Barton could now see that the wolf was much larger than any normal animal of its species would be, perhaps the size of a larger Shetland pony.

"Malva," Barton called to the end of the hallway.

What he'd hoped to gain by this he didn't know. Just the sight of the red wolf had been astonishing. Over the years of being in S.H.I.E.L.D. he had grown accustomed to things such as the Hulk, Gods from another realm, and even aliens from outer space. But something about the wolf in front of him, the way it gazed at him so clearly, had muted his mind and silenced his tongue. Perhaps she was a Guardian from older days, or a God of sorts, perhaps she was just a wolf.

Malva, the wolf, turned away from him quietly, taking the child with her as they turned a corner and disappeared from his sight.

Chasing after them quickly Barton thundered down the hall while touching his earpiece in order to talk to the Captain.

"The wolf has been spotted," he said shortly coming up on the corner fast.

"I'm on my way," a voice returned.

Turning down the same hallway that the wolf had gone down Barton looked fruitlessly back and forth as the wolf had seemed to disappear from the hallway. Running down the hall he looked into all the rooms to come up short at the end, Malva was gone. Going back down the hall again Barton swore, kicking some pieces of the wall around he went back to aimlessly walking the halls and listening for any movement or sound.

"Keep looking, she got away," Barton muttered bitterly into the earpiece. It wasn't like him to lose things or people that he had to find and capture, how had this wolf vanished so quickly?

Darting his eyes back to look at the end of the hallway Barton thought he saw something red walk just out of sight, after blinking a few times he decided that perhaps it wasn't just a trick of the diminishing light. Back down the hallway he went, hoping that he would catch another glimpse of the wolf.

It would have been different if he had been allowed to wound the wolf, shoot her in the leg so she couldn't get away as fast as normal, but Fury wanted her in tip top shape.

Behind him there was a noise of running feet, sharply he looked to meet eyes with the sound to see that there was no one there. From the corner of his eyes there was a flash of red that caused him to jerk his attention to an old room that had smashed windows and old chairs in it. Holding his bow ready Barton walked silently into the room, focusing his eyes on anything that caught his attention, an old chair, a hole in the wall, eyes glowing in the night. Just outside the window Barton looked down at the figure of the wolf, outlined faintly in the growing darkness, with angst and carefulness.

Staring at the two glowing orbs Barton refused to blink, for he was sure that the second he closed his eyes the other ones would disappear, leaving him to look out into the night cursing himself for losing sight of it.

"Agent Barton!" A voice called loudly throughout the eerie building. The voice belonged to Steve, Barton could tell that easily enough, but he wasn't going to turn and look at him, for he would lose sight of the wolf.

Clear unblinking eyes focused on the glowing eyes of the wolf as Steve finally came across the room Barton was located in. Seeing the way Barton was standing, so focused and unmoving Steve could only look out the window and wonder what the man was looking so intently at. To the untrained eye there was nothing looking into the room from outside the window.

"What is it?" Steve asked softly.

Irritated by the fact that Steve could not see the wolf Barton did not answer, staring still at the glowing orbs outside the window as if he was glaring at them.

There was a sudden flood of feelings that surged within Barton; he felt as if he was looking into the eyes of something old, something the world had not seen for a long time. It was similar to when one would reminisce in memories from the past; it was as if he was seeing something ancient. For a mere fraction of a second a light blue bird flashed into his vision before disappearing along with the grey orbs of the wolf.

Lowering his bow Barton tried to recollect his thoughts. For some reason when he'd seen the bird, for that small moment, there was an immense sadness that filled his heart and mind. He didn't know how he knew, but he was certain that the blue bird no longer existed, that it had died. For the feelings of despair in his chest sunk deep, but whose feelings were they? The wolf?

Now as he tried to think about the bird further the image seemed to dissipate from his mind, only leaving the feeling of despair and now loneliness.

Turning back towards Steve Barton merely glanced at him before continuing down the hallway.

"Have you seen anything Captain?" Barton asked curtly.

For some reason the building was making Barton very frustrated and irritated, his eyes never betrayed him, they were like that of a hawk. Why were they playing tricks on his now? Perhaps it was just that point in the mission that he was starting to get the urge to just finish it already, capture the wolf so he could get back to plain old easy assignments.

"Nothing, have you?" He returned the question.

Thinking back to the fleeting memory of the blue bird and the glowing eyes Barton turned to walk down the hallway.

"No," was his cold reply. He needed to get to a higher place, which was where he belonged anyway. Even in the dark he was of better use to anyone on the roof as opposed to a building with many rooms and hallways.

Steve dismissed Barton, not wanting to pry as he inferred that the man wasn't going to give him any other information if he didn't deem it necessary.

By now any light that was in the sky when they arrived was gone, there was just the eerie light of the moon shinning down on them. It gave the whole building a ghostly feel, making Steve uncomfortable as if he was treading on sacred ground.

Steve went back to wandering around the empty hallways and jumping to turn around at any sound that happened to crackle and thump by him. He'd seen the mission as an unknown threat, so he'd chosen to wear his uniform, which blatantly screamed out to any civilian that he was an odd ball, a person you might want to avoid.

In the faint moonlight you could barely see the blue color of the uniform, and since he'd removed his mask one wouldn't be able to tell that it was a uniform anyway. Steve had never been one for scary movies or haunted houses as he got enough 'freaky' from working with S.H.I.E.L.D. anyway, but as he walked through the abandoned hospital he couldn't help the wary feeling. They were looking for some animal in an empty building at night because someone claimed to have seen a red wolf wandering the halls.

The only reassurance was that Barton said he'd seen the wolf, which only helped to sway Steve slightly. The whole business of Gods and Guardians always being on Earth had been hard to swallow. Thor and Loki being of Godly origins had been forced upon him, but this Malva wolf was something he wanted to prove for himself. He just wouldn't admit that something from a legend existed so easily, he was just, old fashioned.

Walking lazily past a row of windows Steve caught sight of a figure standing outside on the balcony, it looked as if they were gazing out across the grounds below them. Seeing as they were on the second floor Steve figured that if he approached the person they would have nowhere to escape to. What they were doing here anyway was a mystery to the Captain, so he would kindly tell them to leave as there was a sort of investigation occurring.

Walking through one of the already open doors Steve looked up to meet the figure to see that it was gone, vanished as soon as he'd looked away for a mere second. Any other person would scream 'ghost' and run around in the halls like a chicken recently beheaded, but Steve knew better than that. He'd seen a man change into a green monster and watched a man disappear in front of him to appear somewhere else. Knowing that it was, in fact, possible to just disappear Steve walked to the railing and looked out across the dark space in front of him.

By now the moon was high in the sky, casting small shadows on anything it could reach, outlining them against the ground. Steve could see the shadow of Barton on the roof on the ground faintly. Turning to look back into the building Steve stopped in his tracks when he saw a wolf staring at him from inside the building. Red fur, grey eyes, this was Malva.

What else it could possibly be he knew not, but it was certainly odd, staring at a wolf that seemed calm enough to stare back. With slow steps Steve began to walk towards the door he had just entered the balcony through, the wolf didn't move, just watched him, moving its head as his body moved towards the building more.

Steve stopped when he saw something on the wolf move, or struggle was more like it. The child that Barton had seen next to the wolf was now climbing onto its back as it stood like a statue or a soldier at attention. The young boy scrambled and pulled on the wolf's scarlet fur before finally he sat upright on its back and carefully stared out the window at Steve as well. The wolf looked more the size of a large pony than the size of an actually wolf, he imagined that its head probably came up to his chest or higher.

"Go away," the child said in a soft but cold voice.

At first Steve was baffled; he hadn't been expecting the child to speak to him. What came next was Steve's brain stumbling around trying to find out what to say or do in response to something like that. The child wanted him to leave, but he could do no such thing as it was his mission to bring the wolf back with him.

Suddenly rushing into the building Steve was hoping he could cut off their escape route, or corner them somewhere so he would be able to speak to them. He should have spoken to them when they were separated by the wall for as soon as he took one rushed step forward the wolf turned and ran. Faster than he could ever run the red animal disappeared before he could shout.

"Wait!" Was his delayed response.

"I heard something, what happened?" Barton's voice whispered from the earpiece.

"The wolf runs really fast," Steve murmured grumpily.

"So you've seen her?" Barton questioned dully.

"Yes," he replied shortly.

From the roof Barton had seen almost nothing. For a second he caught sight of a figure running into the building quickly, but it looked more like an adult human that a child or a wolf, and as soon as he'd seen it, it was gone. He was beginning to get impatient, obviously the wolf knew that they were looking for her, and she wasn't going to let them find her easily, or even give up if that were the case. They would have to trap her, or somehow get a hold of the child in order speak to her at all.

Tapping his earpiece he spoke quietly to his partner.

"Let's call it a night Captain. We'll get used to this place tomorrow and catch her then," he murmured into the small device.

"Sounds like a plan," Steve's voice responded after a short pause.

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**If you've read my other stories you probably noticed that this first chapter was longer than my normal length of chapters, which is what I'm aiming for. More description so you can imagine the abandoned building at night, and perhaps see Steve and Barton turning around looking for the red wolf.**

**If you found any spelling mistakes or words that were left out I apologize, tell me in the review and I'll fix it if you so desire, and thanks for calling me out on it.  
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**I don't know if this story will be any good, or if anyone will even like it, but maybe you ( Reader behind the screen ) could stick with it for a little while and see what you think.  
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**By the way Ghost island and the Beelitz abandoned military Hospital are both real places, and both very much empty. They're pretty interesting, so if you want to read something cool, go look 'em up.  
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**Thank you for reading.  
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	2. Chapter 2

**Hi, hello, whatever, busy schedule. Here's the chapter, read, review, do whatever you want. Enjoy.**

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The next day was spent walking through the abandoned buildings slowly, tracing everything with their eyes, Steve and Barton left no room unseen, looking for anything and everything that might help them find their wolf friend. They found nothing, not even a footprint, which irritated Barton more than he liked to admit. He was supposed to be able to find people, track them down and capture them without making any effort or anything of the matter, and here he was, on the second day of the search and capture.

Steve was less angry and more curious, obviously the wolf was unlike any wolf he had ever seen, red fur, grey eyes, and large in size, but did that make it a God? Certainly not. Gods had the ability to change things, they had power and knowledge, and they certainly didn't hide in the form of a wolf. Whatever this Malva wolf was perhaps she was more like Bruce Banner, an ability similar to the Hulk, which would explain everything, wouldn't it?

It didn't, Steve still felt the need to deny it, there was only one God, so who were all these fakes?

As the evening light grew dimmer and the sun began its descent Barton found himself, once again, walking through the second floor hallway of the abandoned hospital, looking this way and that hoping to catch a red wolf running by. Or something relatively close to that of a red wolf, like the child that was her only known companion.

Sensing something behind him Barton knocked an arrow and turned swiftly to look behind him, seeing the child standing so still and calm did nothing to surprise him, or at least he didn't show it. Now that it wasn't night time Barton could clearly see the child. Brown hair, dull blue eyes, baggy clothing, and a surprisingly cool demeanor, Barton wondered what exactly Malva was doing having a little kid following her everywhere she went.

"What do you want?" The child asked bluntly. Barton was used to the abruptness that people gave him, he was used to being ordered around, and shouted at, but he wasn't so used to children talking to him in such a way as this. The child could only be described as mature for his age.

"I want to talk to Malva," Barton replied curtly. The boy gave him a quick smile that almost sent off an eerie vibe, children really shouldn't be acting like the way that he was.

"Why?" The boy questioned losing his smile.

"I need to tell her something," Barton answered lowering his bow slowly. The boy looked at him angrily, knowing that Barton thought him a nuisance and of no use other than to get information from. He always tried to be useful to Malva, always trying to help in whatever way he could.

"Tell me," he said bitterly. Now he sounded more like a child should, angry, and ready to thrash around for what he wanted.

"It is not for your ears," Barton said calmly staring the boy down harshly. He was hoping the child would break under pressure, but his remark had only seemed to anger the boy, for now he was clenching his small hands and glaring at him.

"I am her ears," he shouted moodily. Children are prone to causing such things as tantrums, waving their arms around and screaming loudly are just minor events for any parents with tykes and toddlers, they are used to such occurrences. Then there's Barton, a fancy secret agent with no experience with kids. As he was staring at kid he had the slightest of urges to just hit him with an arrow to shut him up, but that would make Malva very angry.

"She sent you here?" Barton questioned trying to figure out how he could information from a child.

"No, I came on my own," he growled darkly. What a strange kid, growling at people, did he think that he was a wolf as well?

"Why would you come here alone?" Barton asked lightly. The boy had definitely made it easier for him, now he didn't have to look all over to place in search for the blasted child, he'd come right to him.

"To send you away, and tell you to stop following us or she'll kill you," he yelled at Barton angrily.

At first Barton had wanted to reply with something that would set the kid on edge, perhaps a comment about how she would have to look for you next, but the second part of his yell made him stop for a few minutes.

"Follow you?" He questioned letting his bow fall to his side slowly.

"You've been following us since Italy, leave us alone already," the boy's voice was softer now. It almost sounded as if he was ready to cry, he'd gotten so frustrated with the conversation his emotions were starting to take the kid over.

Barton froze for a few seconds; this meant that there were other people following Malva, but who else knew about the Guard ti gi's? Who else could possibly be looking for the wolf? And if they were still following them that meant that they would soon be here as well, Steve and Barton would have to get Malva quickly. There was more trouble coming fast.

Touching his earpiece quickly Barton spoke to Steve in a rush.

"Find Malva, do whatever you need to do, we're going to have company soon," he muttered turning back to look at the still angry child.

"Don't ignore me," he screamed now very frustrated with the agent.

"Listen kid," Barton said coldly. "We aren't the ones that have been following you since Italy, we're the good guys," he murmured, which was more or less true.

"What are you getting at?" He asked with a shaky voice.

"We're here to protect you," he said listening for any sound similar to that of a car, a vehicle of some sort. Or perhaps he was listening for gunfire, because the police blocking entrance would not be considered safe if someone was coming for an unfriendly reason.

By now the boy was very much confused, what did he mean they hadn't been following them? Did that mean that there were other people searching for Malva? Why was everybody always searching for Malva?

Of course he knew the reason why, because she possessed a great power that could help or destroy many things, but that wasn't all she was. He realized not that he was probably the only one that knew Malva for her kind side, the side of her that didn't care about power, because people and gods are more important as friends then weapons right? Maybe that's just the folly thought of a child though.

On another side of the building Steve was blundering through the halls of the first floor trying to find said red wolf before said unwanted company arrived and started to destroy things. So for he had gotten nowhere, if he thought he'd had a rough time looking for her last night it was even more frustrating during the day. He could see things better, there was still enough light outside for him to see inside every room and down every hallway, but he could still find no trace of Malva and the child.

What he didn't know was that Barton had the child and that Malva was following him around as he ran and walked through the rooms and looked out the windows trying to find her. In all the rush of trying to find her Steve had neglected any sounds of animals around him, figuring that they were caused by small useless animals he ignored it. But this was not his only mistake, for as he nearly tripped over some rubble on the ground he reached up to his earpiece and contacted Barton.

"Have you seen the child?" Steve asked with a bit of franticness evident in his voice.

"I have him, find the wolf," came his cold and quick reply. Nodding in response to no one Steve went back to looking into all of the rooms and down all the hallways and rushing up the stairs.

"At least we have the kid," he huffed turning around suddenly when he caught something flash in his eyes. There was nothing behind him, merely the dimming light of evening.

At first it started out quietly, but Steve could hear it. A low growl had started to sound in front of him, making him turn back around to see none other than the red wolf at the end of the hallway. Again Steve found himself slightly mesmerized, taken aback by the fact that he was staring at something that was considered to be a legend.

"Malva," Steve said softly. He didn't want to anger her in any way, or say anything that would make him look like the bad guy, because she didn't seem very happy with him at the moment.

Steve took a few hesitant steps forward before he heard a voice in his head, speaking to him faintly yet so forceful it was as if someone had yelled at him.

'_Do not move,'_ the voice whispered inside his mind. Startled by it more than he would like to admit Steve looked forwards towards the wolf, had it been her voice? He'd been watching her the whole time, growling at him, but had her mouth formed words?

"I am not your enemy," Steve said putting his hands out to his sides to show his surrender.

'_Where is the child?'_ The whispered voice questioned harshly.

It was odd, hearing someone's voice inside your head, hearing something that was not of your own creation, Steve still hadn't grasped the realness of it. It almost seemed like when she spoke inside his head all other thoughts scattered and abandoned his mind, leaving the voice to echo faintly.

"He's fine," Steve assured her kindly. Malva seemed to accept this fact as she stopped growled but still held a hateful glare in her eyes towards him.

'_Return him to me,'_ she said inside his head.

"We will," Steve muttered looking at her. "After you agree to talk to us," he said sternly this time.

Again Malva growled at him, taking a few steps towards the soldier she showed her fangs threateningly.

'_There is nothing to talk about,'_ her angry voice echoed in his mind.

At this point Steve's mind was trying desperately to supply his mouth with something to say that would stop her advance towards him and to get her to listen. One wrong word or sentence might send a wolf flying at his face, or worse, for he did not know of the powers she held.

"It's about Deo," Steve said in a rush.

He was disappointed slightly, perhaps if he had said something greater she would have responded to him right away, but instead his mind gave him a petty line that she didn't acknowledge. Malva closed her mouth and raised her head slightly, showing that she was slightly interested in what he had to say, but she didn't speak to him.

"We need your help," he murmured softly. Finally, as Malva's ears perked up, Steve saw that he had gotten through to her, that she was finally listening to what he had to so.

What she did next surprised Steve a little bit, for she seemed to have froze in one spot, only her eyes darted back and forth, while it appeared that even her fur did not move even with a light breeze. Shifting slightly she let her head move downwards a tiny bit, she was listening for something, something she had wished she would not hear again.

Before Steve could even ask what was wrong, or take a single step Malva had run into a random room with a broken window and leaped outside, all he could do was watch as she disappeared in a blur.

"Malva!" He shouted after her. He was confused, why had she suddenly left him? Steve's ears were nowhere near as keen as Malva's, so he did not hear the wheels of a vehicle crunching on the ground. He did not even hear the sound of a bullet slicing through the air and hitting a man in the chest, he did not know anything.

"Captain," Barton's voice came faintly into Steve's scattered mind.

"Yes?" Steve asked after he'd run to the window that Malva had jumped out of.

"Our company has arrived," his reply was short. "Come get the kid, I'll go after Malva," he muttered.

"Where are you?" Steve asked already running off in a random direction.

"Behind you," a cold voice responded. It wasn't Barton's voice, Steve could at least tell that much.

Turning around to see who was behind him Steve locked eyes with a man who was pointing a gun at Steve and smiling like a clown for a birthday party. With a rugged looking stubble beard and cold green eyes Steve already didn't like the man, besides the fact that he was pointing a gun at him.

For a moment they seemed to just face off with each other, Barton murmured something into the earpiece but Steve wasn't listening, his thoughts consumed by whether or not he should grab for his shield. Or if he should dodge any incoming gunfire and knock the gun out of the man's hand, going for a close combat sort of approach.

It happened fast, Steve decided against the first one and instead jumped to the side when the man fired, dodging the bullet he knocked the gun out of the man's hands and began to beat down on him. Within seconds the man was on the ground, successfully knocked out and pushed to the side. Steve tapped his earpiece while grabbing a hold of his shield and preparing for another man to come and replace the one he had just defeated.

"Keep the kid, I'm a little busy here," he said before running down the hall towards the front of the hospital.

Barton heard Steve's reply and cursed silently, looking down at the kid who looked more scared than he had before. He'd found out that the kids name was Arthur, and that he really was just a scared little kid who needed his friend, and in this case his friend was a big red wolf.

By now men with guns had started running into the building and surrounding the hospital, which really freaked out Arthur who kept glancing around looking for Malva and fiddling with the edge of his shirt.

"They've come for her," Arthur said softly twisting his face into an expression of extreme worry.

"Who? Who has been following you?" Barton asked looking back at the kid.

"I don't know, they have guns and they've been following us, and they won't leave us alone," the kid said frantically. Now the younger side of him was starting to show through, the scared child side of him that let tears fill up his eyes but not overflow. Arthur was about to cry and all Barton could think about was how many men he could kill without anyone noticing where they were in the building.

"Why do they want her?" Barton said kneeling down next to the kid and taking his shoulders gently.

"They said that he wants her back, and that she'll be his again," Arthur said wiping his eyes to stop them from overflowing.

"Who wants her back?"He questioned looking the child in the eyes.

"Deo," he said in a small whisper.

It was at that moment that a barrage of screams could be heard outside, Barton and Arthur looked out the window just in time to see about four men propelled backwards out of the building. Then it seemed as if something was holding them there for they were held suspended above the ground and could do nothing to get out of whatever was holding them there. That was when Malva walked out of the building, in the rapidly fading light of evening you could see her red fur clearly and her grey eyes beginning to glow slightly.

Barton had even less time to think than usual, what did Deo want with Malva? Was there something that Fury had not told him? How was Malva fighting these men?

So many questions rushed through his mind that he couldn't even grasp at one for a few seconds; it was if his thoughts had formed a tornado and he was standing in the middle trying to make sense of it all.

Still watching Malva Barton watched as she left the men where they were, floating in the air before running back into the building quickly and silently. Then there was noise behind Barton and he knew that they had found him and the child, and that perhaps they weren't so safe anymore.

Quickly Barton pulled his bow ready, wondering slightly if the child was used to seeing dead bodies or if he would freak out at the sight of a lifeless body falling to the floor. He suspected the latter and pulled his bow back readily before he heard the little boy scream.

"No, don't kill them," the boy screamed loudly at Barton. He then walked into the hallway where Barton was standing and nudged his bow downwards, the scream had more than likely attracted some unwanted attention.

"Why not? They're here to kill us," he spoke coldly. He just couldn't understand this child.

"They're just fighting on the wrong side," he said exasperated. Barton was annoyed with the Arthur, but for some reason when he had spoken those words Barton knew that they were not his own, they were probably the words of the wolf. "Are you just going to end their life because they met the wrong person?" He questioned letting his face twist into one of pain.

At this point Barton had to admit that the kid had a point; though it defeated his whole purpose of being there, what was he if not an assassin? With a small glare to the kid Barton pulled his bow back again and let an arrow fly, it hit a man in the shoulder just as he turned the corner holding a gun. The force at which the arrow had been launched and traveling forced the man into the wall before he let out a scream of pain. He was injured pretty badly, but nowhere near dead, at least Barton could manage that much.

Hearing the small scampering of feet Barton turned around to see that Arthur was running down the hallway, his small feet making soft thumps on the floor.

"Arthur!" Barton shouted after him angrily. Did the child not know that he was probably running right into the hands of the enemy?

Just as he was about to turn the corner Barton shot an arrow at him, catching his shirt just above the shoulder and pinning him to the wall. Arthur looked left down the next hallway before looking back at Barton with fear in his eyes. In the next second a gloved hand reached out and pulled Arthur from where he was stuck against the wall, a tearing sound went through the building as his shirt tore from the arrow. There was a small yelp of surprise from Arthur before whoever had him pulled him from Barton's sight.

Feeling anger sweep through him Barton ran down the hall to where the boy had been only moments before, there were no signs of him save for the bit of fabric left pinning to the wall from the arrow. Letting his anger come to a boil Barton pulled an arrow into his bow and let it sink into a man that had just run into the hallway, the fool fell to the floor dead, only satisfying Barton's anger slightly.

"Malva!" A voice shouted from outside. It was a rough sounding voice, with a slight accent that made his words sound all the more harsh and ragged.

A man holding Arthur firmly in his grasp was dragging the kid backwards with him and pointing a gun at his head, any normal person might be crying or wishing that they hadn't become friends with a big red wolf. But Arthur stood strong, even as the man clicked the gun ready to shoot he glared defiantly at the building where his friend was getting rid of men left and right.

"Malva! I have your child!" The man shouted again.

Suddenly the men floating in the air were thrown across the landscape, disappearing into the darkening parts of the surrounding area, leaving nothing behind except for the screams that were not fast enough to follow them.

"Come out here or I'll shoot him!" The man threatened. Barton was taken aback by what had just happened right in front of his eyes; those men had just disappeared, some unknown force pushing them past the horizon. Was that the power of Malva, the guardian of the wolves? Another man came out from a door and joined the man that held Arthur, smirking in triumph Barton pulled his arrow taught, ready to fire if needed be.

A yell distracted the man for a second at which point Barton released his arrow quickly. It sliced through the air like a hot knife through butter, catching the man's hand that held the gun and pinning it against his chest, leaving an arrow to protrude from his back. The man could only scream as he looked down to see that his hand had an arrow going through it, and what a frightening scream it was. Full of pain and agony Arthur could only stumble away and watch as blood began to seep from the man's wound.

Finally looking over to the side a little Barton saw that Steve was the one that had distracted the man, for he was now fighting the other man that had been smirking like a cat, he certainly wasn't smirking now.

Hearing men rush down the hallway Barton looked left and right to see that he was surrounded, so he looked out the window before jumping up towards the roof, grabbing hold of whatever he could find in order to pull himself up.

Once on the roof Barton looked over the area around the abandoned hospital, looking for the road block he saw that all the police officers were dead, and that their blood soaking the ground where they'd fallen. He also saw that another truck was making itself down the same road full of more men with guns and anxious attitudes.

Pushing a button on his pack Barton changed the arrow before loading it into his bow and launching it at the truck, within seconds it erupted and let an explosion of smoke coat the truck and its occupants.

"How many are left?" Steve's voice broke through his thoughts. Barton glanced around at the surrounding buildings, seeing that there were still many men running through the hallways.

"A dozen or more," Barton replied letting an arrow hit a man in the leg as he ran out of the building.

"Ah!" Arthur screamed watching the blood soak the man's leg quickly. The kid looked very frightened to say the very least, not even a ghost could scare him more. "I don't want to see this," he cried running away and covering his eyes.

Steve looked after the kid as he was fighting another man.

"Wait," Steve shouted after him. Barton could only watch as Arthur knocked into a man and fell over looking up at him afraid of what would happen. The man pointed the gun down at Arthur, Barton had just turned shot an arrow at someone when the man clicked the gun in preparation.

"Malva!" Arthur shouted closing his eyes tightly.

In a blur of red motion a figure rushed out of the building and towards Arthur, Barton didn't know whether or not he should let his arrow fly or wait to see what would appear after the movement had stopped. Keen eyes allowed Barton to see the red wolf shift forms, changing into a human half way through her run she picked Arthur up and put her hand on the man's chest defensively.

Steve and Barton couldn't take their eyes away from this new human figure in front of them, long red hair that cascaded down her back, the same grey eyes that they had stared at the night before, and a large sweater that barely covered what needed to be covered. She could only be described as beautiful.

She said nothing to the man in front of her, merely moved her hand an inch forward into his chest before he was sent flying across the ground. Smacking into the building he fell to t ground motionless. Arthur was clinging to her as if she really was his mother, clenching her sweater with his hands she hugged him gently before pulling away from him and grabbing his hand.

She let her other hand fall to her side and opened it, letting her fingers move slightly as she stretched them towards the ground. All around the buildings the air seemed to get lighter and heavier at the same time, lifting and pulling, men started to get sucked from the building as if there was a vacuum in the center or something. Malva glanced over at Steve and Barton briefly before glaring at the men that were joining her in outside. Regardless of the low gravity a man still tried to attack Steve, which caught Malva's attention enough to where she turned her head towards them quickly. Then something happened, with a force that Steve had never seen or even heard of before the man was launched backwards towards the trees.

For a moment Steve lost his train of thought as Malva stared at him, then very quickly an image appeared in his mind, a man covered in blood closing his eyes slowly. As soon as he blinked it was gone, thinking of what he had glimpsed made him want to cry, but they were not his tears, what had he just seen?

Looking back up at Malva he saw that she had the same expression on her face that he did, it looked as if she wanted to cry, Steve couldn't help but feel sad for her. The second the expression crossed on her face it was gone and she was looking at the men that had been pulled from the building like someone searching for seashells in the ocean.

"Tell Deo that I don't love him anymore," she whispered into one of the man's ears before they disappeared. Steve had not heard what Malva had said to the man, he'd just seen all of them disappear right before his eyes, vanishing before he could even blink.

Within seconds Barton landed in front of Steve and walked towards Malva with purpose. Steve watched as the red haired girl seemed to falter on her feet when she tried to walk forwards, the kid next to her tried to hold her up as best he could.

Steve wondered what had happened to the God, weren't they supposed to be immortal? Why was she wavering on her own feet?

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**Sorry, this is later than Friday, some of you might be waiting for me to update my other stories, forgive me. I had to write an essay this weekend and study for a math test so I will go write those updates right now.**

**What did you think of this chapter through? Does this story sound interesting? ( The next chapter will show a little bit more history about the Guardians)  
**

**I also have a lot of kidney pain as well, so that's something else to think about, anyway, enough talking. I'll get back to writing. See at the end of the next update!  
**

**Thanks for reading.  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**In this chapter...blah, blah, blah. Read it and you'll know. **

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It is said in the legend of the Guard Ti Gi, that when a fellow guardian dies the other guardians feel the loss, it crashes over their bodies like a wave crashes on the shore of a beach. The guardians are meant to live forever, only another guardian or a god can kill them, so when they are killed the others feel the same pain that they did before they died.

When Aldora, guardian of the sky, was killed by Deo, they felt it. He'd drowned her in a lake, tricking her into believing that he was just there to visit her, to laugh and joke around like they always did. Then when she least expected it he'd pushed her into the water and held her down, refusing to let her breathe. Thus her powers were useless against him.

Where ever they were the guardians felt a shortness of breath before it felt as if they couldn't breathe at all. Collapsing on the ground and in the snow they struggled for breath with their sister guardian, clutching at their throats and choking on invisible water. When Aldora finally died were they able to breathe again, only to have an empty feeling of loss tear their hearts into pieces as they reached out to their sister that was already dead.

A similar occurrence was happening with Malva, collapsing to the ground in front of Steve and Barton she gasped, grabbing onto her shoulder painfully and twisting her face into an expression of agony.

"What happened?" Steve asked looking at the tortured figure of the woman in front of him. Had he missed something?

Barton ignored him; he didn't know the answer to his question, so why try. Malva went from her knees to her back, now she was grasping at her neck, making choked noises while Arthur sat next to her letting tears slide down his face.

Not knowing what to do Barton glanced around at Malva's exposed skin, she wasn't injured anywhere so what was happening? Looking at her eyes Barton found himself drifting apart from his body, as if he was getting pulled into a different world. Snapping out of it Barton realized that Malva's eyes were beginning to glaze over, it looked as if she was staring off at something else, looking past him, like he didn't even exist at all.

"What's wrong with her?" Barton turned over towards Arthur calmly. There was no reason to scare the poor kid anymore.

"Someone died," he muttered looking at his red haired companion sadly.

"What do you mean?" Steve questioned bending down next to the girl cautiously.

At that moment Malva stopped struggling, staring up at Barton she looked past him again, this time her eyes looked clear and otherwise focused.

"Ailuros my sister, goodbye," she whispered softly before closing her eyes slowly. Arthur muffled a cry next to them before a blinding white light appeared in their vision. Robbing everyone of their sight momentarily Barton was the only one who could faintly make out the figure that was Malva on the ground. The light seemed to be more than fixated on her, it looked as if she was the one creating it in the first place, for a moment she became the sun itself. Lighting up the surrounding area, making it look like day time again. Steve was slightly gaining his vision back, though not enough to where he could look at the light and make out shapes, he couldn't see Malva.

Quite quickly something within the light seemed to form a humanoid figure; Barton could see eyes, hair, arms, legs, the whole human body, and a smile. The light creature bent down next to where Barton was and looked down at the motionless Malva, glancing at Barton the thing smiled before Barton heard her whisper.

"Malva my sister, goodbye," the light creature whispered to her. She then lent down and kissed Malva on the forehead lovingly, Barton watched as her human figure started to fade, changing into a cat before fading away into the surrounding glow of white. At this point the light seemed to dissipate, Steve finally got back his ability to decipher one thing from another, and watched as the glow dimmed and vanished in front of them.

Barton watched as the last bit of light disappeared, going back to the figure of the light girl, what had he just seen? Certainly not something he could have ever imagined to see, he was dealing with gods form ancient times, guardians meant to always be hidden and never seen. This was a glimpse into a world that was never meant to be part of his own, and yet he had seen the very core of it.

Not that he knew what happened. Malva had looked as though she was dying and there was nothing they could do, and then she just stopped, saying goodbye to someone who was nowhere near them, or so he guessed. Then the light had come and passed, and for some reason there was a deep aching in his heart, a sadness in his mind that sank fast.

Finding himself staring off into space Barton looked down at Malva before picking her up carefully, they were still on a mission. Regardless of what happened, who they found, what they did, they were still required to bring Malva back to S.H.I.E.L.D., and that was what he was going to do.

"Time to go," Barton said shortly before walking off with the woman in his arms. Steve ran to catch up with him shortly, leaving Arthur on the ground rubbing his eyes.

"What about the kid?" Steve asked looking back towards Arthur.

"We'll take him with us," he muttered before turning away from Steve. The man was a good fighter but sometimes he just asked far too many questions, and Barton could only answer so many of them.

Shifting the girl in his arms Barton looked down at Malva, the feeling of her skin against his made his skin tingle. Her face was nothing short of flawless, but of course, she was considered a god. Glancing over the rest of her body Barton made a note to get her some better clothing, for the sweater she currently had on was dangerously close to showing private regions. Most men wouldn't mind, they would welcome it in fact, but Steve would more than likely get the woman some clothing, it was just in his nature.

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Waking up with a choked gasp Malva snapped her eyes open and looked around the room she was in. A metal room, with glass windows, but for a moment Malva didn't care. She'd been dreaming of Ailuros, at first the images had been nice and sweet, they'd been playful and warm, showing memories of when the two guardians would run together. Then the dream started to turn ugly as she saw watched as Deo began to advance on Ailuros, and she could do nothing but watch. Kept back by an invisible barrier Malva pounded on the walls, screaming her name, staring at the scene before her as Deo began to get violent. When Ailuros finally died and a white light clouded the dream with brightness Malva woke up with a gasp.

Her sister was dead.

Breathing heavily Malva glanced down at the bed to see Arthur sleeping soundly with his arms on the covers, an expression of sadness and agony fell upon her face, trying her best to smile kindly at Arthur through her pain she failed. She was gone; Deo had killed her as well.

As always when a guardian was killed a great emptiness sank into their hearts, Ailuros, the cunning, mischievous, and kind guardian no longer held any place in her heart, she'd been torn away without a second thought. It was not something Malva could control, as soon as a guardian died all of the other felt the absence of something in their hearts. When Deo had killed his first guardian the feeling had been something new and unbearable, but now, with so many of them gone, it was a horrid reality that they could not escape.

Bringing her knees to her chest Malva wrapped her arms around her knees, finally noticing that she was wearing different clothing. A soft white shirt and grey short shorts, but where had her sweater gone, it had been a gift from one of her brothers. Faintly Malva wondered about the sweater before her thoughts were consumed with images of Ailuros, and the painful feeling of knowing that she was gone.

It Hurt.

Crying out in pain softly she let her tears fall, burying her head against her legs she hid her face away with her hair, using it as more of a curtain than anything else. There was nothing anyone could say to make her feel better, saying that she was in a better place now. How did that make things better? Why would you wish your sister to be in a place where you weren't? Malva never understood the way humans chose to comfort their own species; they always spoke with so much meaning and strength when really all their words are empty.

All she had left of her sister was her power; as soon as she'd woken up she knew that Ailuros had given Malva her power, for that was the only thing that could have knocked her out. When one of the guardians dies and the others feel their pain, its only temporary, lasting as long as there's still breath left in the dying gods body. As soon as they die the others can go on with their day, but when power is given from one god to another it robs the body of its strength while it tries to accommodate the new intrusion of energy. In most cases the God will fall asleep, sometimes they can carry on, but their body is very weak, making it hard to do menial tasks until the body adjusts a few days later.

So far Malva had the powers of seven guardians, enabling her to change into many different animals and giving her valuable strength that people had sought out for years. Now she could add the cat into the long list of animals she could transform into, she always hoped that no one else would die, because all the guardians had chosen her.

Feeling a shift in the bed Malva looked up to see that Arthur had woken up while she mourned and was staring at her sadly, he knew what had happened. Without a word he crawled up onto the bed and hugged her as only a child can, he knew that his words would fall onto deaf ears and that all he could offer was his company.

Malva let a small smile play its way onto her lips before she opened her arms and hugged him, grateful that in this strange new place with these horrid feelings she wasn't alone, she still had Arthur.

Watching from the security cams Barton and Steve looked over their captured guardian, they'd been nervous at first keeping the god in their care, how would she react once she woke up? She'd shocked them then, conveying her emotions in such an open way, they watched as she pulled her legs to her chest and let her hair fall all over her body. Shielding herself from their careful watching eyes.

Barton said nothing to admit it but as she silently cried out in agony there was a small part of him that kept going back to the abandoned hospital in Germany. Seeing the blue bird and feeling the emptiness after it had faded from his mind, and then with the light creature, the emptiness had found its way back to him. As he watched Malva he couldn't help but feel the same pain as she, but what did this mean? Was he somehow connected to Malva?

Surely Steve had seen the same things as him.

As if drawn by the same feelings Steve asked a question that Barton had not expected to hear from his lips.

"When she looked at me I saw something," he started off in a low whisper.

Barton looked at Steve warily, wondering what the man was going to say next, had he seen the bird as well? Saying nothing in response Barton waited for the man to continue, looking at Malva silently.

"There was man on the ground covered in blood, very slowly he closed his eyes, whispered something softly," Steve said seemingly stuck in his own remembrance.

"What did he say?" Barton wondered aloud. At that moment Steve looked at him, thinking back to what had happened with Malva his expression turned to one of confusion and worry.

"He said goodbye," he murmured before looking back at Malva.

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After being alone with Arthur for about an hour Malva had settled down, holding her loneliness back until she could be completely alone. At this point a man that Malva did not know walked into the room, his steps were careful and strong, and perhaps the most striking thing about him was the eye patch that covered one of his eyes. For it screamed secrets and stories, his eyes held a clearness that could rival even the strongest of men, and air of intelligence that some would be jealous of.

"Malva, can I speak to you alone?" The man asked in a cold yet stern voice. Glancing back at Arthur Malva saw that the boy looked nervous, though he had no reason to be. Patting the boy on the back and giving him a small smile she stood let her bare feet touch the cold metal floor, reveling in its coolness she looked up at the man.

"Elsewhere then?" Malva said in a soft voice. The man was somewhat surprised that she was ready to go somewhere with someone she had just met, but, then again, everything is of a different matter when a god is involved.

Leading her into another room and closing the door Malva saw that this room had a rather large table taking up the majority of its space, with chairs seated all around it, probably a more secret sort of meeting room or something. Choosing to lean against the wall Malva looked at the man, eyes latched onto his form as he looked right back at her.

"My name is Nick Fury, I am the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and I have come to ask a favor of you," he said staring down at her darkly.

"What is it you desire?" She said in a more breathless voice. Few times before men sought her out, knowing the history of the Guard Ti Gi and hoping that if they were to find her a wish might be granted. Was this man any different?

"As you know Deo has returned to Earth seeking out revenge," he said watching to see what her reaction might show. She let nothing slip out from behind her mask of emotions; there was no crack in her façade that was expected, though he had hoped she might show some type of emotion.

"This information is not new," she muttered in the same soft voice as before. The guardians did not let their emotions show to just anyone, they had to know you.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. understands that an enemy such as Deo cannot be defeated with weapons alone, and so we have come to you," he said sternly. "He plans to destroy the Earth, and take something that belongs to him, and we can't let that happen can we?" He questioned looking at her face as she seemed to fade in and out of the conversation.

"He can only be defeated by a guardian, or a god," Malva said shifting her eyes away from him. There was something she knew about what Deo had said, something that she was keeping to herself. Fury noticed the small shift in her stance and emotions and figured something had struck deep with her, if there anything Malva was bad at, it was lying.

"As we speak more of our agents are rounding up your friends, and transporting them back here," Fury continued.

"Why?" Malva suddenly bit out with a cold voice. For a second the air in the room seemed freezing, but after Fury had realized the cold it was already gone.

"We need your help, we humans can't defeat him by ourselves," he muttered staring into her eyes. Malva looked up at him darkly, the reason she had been in Germany was to collect something, yes, she was also running from the men that were chasing her, but there was another reason to where she had ended up.

"We were already doing something," she spat out with a glare at him.

"What were you going to do?" He questioned letting his brows rise in mock surprise.

"When all the guardians are in one place our powers grows greater than that of any god or sorcerer in any of the worlds. Deo is hunting us down, throwing us to the ends of the Earth in order to prevent this from happening, because in order to defeat him, we need each other, everyone that's left," she explained with a controlled voice.

"And how's that working out for you?" Fury said very matter of fact.

Letting her anger get the best of her Malva watched as the chairs and table moved out of the way of herself and Fury in the blink of an eye, hanging suspended on the sides of the room. Fury didn't move, showing that he was unafraid of her made her anger fade and she let the table and chairs fall to the floor, still there was a pathway to him.

"Maybe the next time aliens try to destroy your planet, we won't help you," she whispered in a chilled voice. With that said she vanished from the room.

Her comment made him baffled slightly; did that mean that she was there when New York was being destroyed? There had been no sightings of animals raging through the city and saving people, none that he could recall anyway.

Blinking back his shock Fury mused out loud.

"Teleportation, that could be useful," he said before walking out the door and towards Malva's room.

Appearing back in the room she had previously been in Malva searched through it for Arthur, finding that he wasn't there she growled ferociously, she had thought that they would be friendly about it, but of course. Things rarely go according to planned.

"Arthur's not here," a voice from behind her caught her attention.

Turning around quickly she saw that it was the soldier from Germany, save now he was wearing civilian clothing, looking much more like an average human than a hero. Something about him caught Malva off guard, he smelled familiar. Shaking the feeling off she glared at him.

"Where is he?" She asked with a small growl in her voice.

"You'll get him back after you've helped us," Fury said walking into the room.

"If I refuse and leave him?" Malva asked turning their backs to the two men.

"We'll kill him," Fury said calmly. This made Steve jerk his head towards the man harshly, that was going a bit too far wasn't it? They wouldn't really kill the boy would they?

"I understand," she said not turning around. "I'll help you since the rest of the guardians are going to be here, but give me back my sweater," she muttered letting her head droop downwards slightly.

"Of course," Fury said before walking away again.

"I wouldn't have let them kill him you know," Steve said holding his place in the door.

"I know," Malva said with a kind voice. She finally turned around to face him; staring into his eyes with her own grey ones she held his stare.

"Then why did you agree to help?" Steve wondered aloud, furrowing his brows. For a moment Malva said nothing, looking away from the man faintly before letting a small smile cascade over her lips, Steve felt warm for a second.

"For a long time we've been forgotten," she muttered. Steve could only guess that she meant we as the guardians. "Deo's back and we thought we were fighting him alone, but you're looking for us. You need us, it's been a long time since someone's needed us and asked," she said looking back up at him with a kind look on her face.

At first she'd been angry, for the man called Fury had only seemed to mock her, accusing the guardians of never caring for what happened to the humans when really they had always been there. She let her bitterness get the best of her and she'd lashed out at the man when really she should have kept her temper down and agreed to help him right away. Instead she looked for a way out, hoping that she could grab Arthur and be done with this place, but her mind got the better of her.

They needed her help, and they'd even asked for it. It felt good to be needed, to be searched for, and if the humans were ready to fight for their Earth, then the guardians would fight right alongside of them, they would be allies until the end.

"We thought that you'd abandoned us for good, and yet here you are," she said with a broad happy smile.

"Yes," Steve said dumbly. He didn't know what to say, here, in front of him, was this beautiful god who was smiling and looking radiant, and he had no idea how to respond to her. So he just muttered out a plain 'yes' but what was that supposed to mean?

"You remind me of someone," she murmured walking towards him. Steve wanted to take a few awkward steps backwards as he was not used to someone of her stature being so close.

Suddenly turning her head to the side Malva watched as Fury approached them with her sweater in his hands, good thing they had not thrown it away Malva would have had a fit, because the person who gave her the sweater was dead and she could not replace it.

"When are the others getting here?" She asked letting her mood change into a more serious one.

"Canis is already here, Eldoris and Ailuros should be here soon," Fury explained watching the god's expressions change. First she had been happy at the mention of Canis, her face brightened and an ecstatic smile spread across it, and then she heard the name Ailuros and her mood darkened considerably.

Snatching her sweater back from his hands she threw off the shirt she was wearing and put on her beloved long sleeved top, letting a sad sort of expression sink into her skin she looked past Fury before muttering something.

"Ailuros is already dead," she said before walking past the man. Disbelieving the man turned around and spoke to her in an accusing voice.

"We sent two of our best men after her, how can you be so sure?" His voice was sharp, like knives.

For a moment Malva stopped walking before she turned and looked at the man who questioned what he did not want to believe. Her face was cold and emotionless, as if he'd taken away her happiness with the mention of one person. If Canis was here, they could mourn together; they could howl into the sky and tell the world of the god's departure. For she was no longer in the world at all.

"Trust me," she said forcing a smile onto her face. "She's dead," she whispered the last part, turning around once again. At that moment Barton turned the corner, almost running into the god who so easily dodged him and continued walking, but now before he caught sight of a sad smile on her face.

Watching her walk away he blinked a few times when she suddenly disappeared, vanishing from his vision like a snowflake landing on a tongue. Turning back around Barton went on his way, ignoring the god and the way she made him think about things that never got to his mind before.

Appearing on the deck Malva looked out across the sky, it was about midday, Malva desperately wished that it was night time, then she could cry out into the night sky towards the stars and hope that Ailuros was still lingering there, that perhaps she would hear her song and be happy.

They were high enough in the air that a human would not be able to breathe, but a guardian would have no trouble getting breath out of this thin air, after all, some of them were built for the sky. Sighing Malva sat down near the edge of the aircraft, changing back into her wolf form she placed her head on her arms, looking off into the sky and letting the sun warm her fur. It felt nice; though it couldn't erase any feelings that hindered her mind.

Feeling a new presence behind her Malva almost smiled, she'd been waiting for him to join her.

'_Malva,'_ a voice whispered inside her head. When not in their human forms such was the way the guardians spoke to each other and other beings of the Earth, in their minds.

'_Canis,'_ she greeted him equally before turning around quickly.

Getting back on her feet she looked Canis over, seeing that he was currently a Shiloh Shepherd, or something of the sort, with black fur that looked midnight blue in the sunlight. He was also larger than any normal dog, though still smaller than her; it was easier to hide when you were smaller.

With a growl he launched at her, snapping at her neck whenever he got the chance, a growl of her own escaped from her mouth before she rolled to dodge him, swiping out with her paw and pinning him on the ground. He had always been the playful one, never letting anyone show him sadness, or anything of the like, he would often mess around with the other guardians. Biting at their feet until they finally lost it and chased after him in a fit of wild rage, laughing as they caught him he would smile and say, _'you're not upset anymore.'_

Usually Malva played along with him for she knew he was relentless with his antics, but for now she wanted to do nothing but mourn for her lost friend.

Again Canis tried to jump on Malva, biting playfully at her ear she ignored him and sat down once again.

'_I'm not in the mood Canis,'_ her voice shook in his mind.

'_Come on,'_ he urged her, poking her with his nose. _'She wouldn't want you to be like this, she wouldn't want you to be sad,'_ he whined softly. _'Can we at least be happy about the fact that we're both still here, that he hasn't gotten us yet?'_ He questioned her kindly.

'_I suppose so,'_ she murmured letting her own form of wolfish smile cross her features.

He tried to copy her, but only succeeding in showing his teeth menacingly, at that she laughed, and he was happy. For at least she was doing her best to look happier for him.

When night finally fell over the aircraft and the stars began to show their ugly shining faces Malva and Canis turned their heads towards the space in front of them. Malva started them off, letting a sad mournful howl fill the night sky; this was goodbye to an old ally, goodbye to an old friend, and goodbye to a sister.

Inside the aircraft Fury answered a call from Tony, who had been assigned to retrieve Ailuros, guardian of the cats.

"What do you mean she's dead?" Fury asked angrily.

"Some big guy, lots of lights, they started fighting, he won. Is that the bad guy that everyone's afraid of? He's pretty scary looking," his voice muttered from the other side of the phone. "We're coming back right now," he said before hanging up on the man.

Turning off the phone angrily Fury leaned backwards frustrated before he heard a wolf howl, at first he was baffled before he remembered that Malva's other form was a wolf, though he had yet to see it. Listening to if faintly Fury was almost caught off guard when a bit of sadness sunk into his own heart, it was a sad mournful song that the wolf sung, but he hadn't expected it to effect him at all.

Sitting down in the chair closest to him he fumed in his own thoughts, remembering slightly what Malva had said to him hours before, her voice kept repeating in his mind.

'_Trust me, she's dead.'_

How had she known? Obviously there were things that she was not telling him about, he had been okay with that at first, because everyone has their own batch of secrets hidden within them. But now he was curious, and if her secrets would save them some time, and some lives, she would have to tell him.

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**Haven't gotten any reviews yet, makes me a little sad, I want to know what you ( the reader ) thinks. If you even think you like it anyway.**

**My sister had her birthday party today, bunch of girls running around laughing and giggling, it wasn't that much fun. Anyway, hope you liked this chapter.  
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**Thank you for reading.  
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